Download - Key Figures of the Renaissance
Key Figures of the Renaissance
Powerful ruling family from FlorenceKnown for presiding over the Italian
RenaissanceRose to power through Cosimo de MediciHeight of power with Lorenzo the
MagnificentBank of the Roman Catholic ChurchAdvocates and patrons of the arts
Artists including Donatello, Botticelli, Michelangelo
Medici family
c. 1340-1400British writerThe Canterbury TalesTroilus and Criseydeused English when most works
were in LatinBuried in Westminster Abbey
Geoffrey Chaucer
1564-1616“The Bard of Avon”English poet and playwrightFamous worker of The Globeworks are the second most read in the world154 SonnetsRomeo & JulietHamletJulius Caesar
William Shakespeare
Italian family of Spanish descentprominent in religious and political affairsTwo popes, many political/church leaders, one saintKnown for treachery, corruption, murderFour most-famous
Alfonso de Borgia (1378-1458): established influence in Italy; Pope Calixtus III in 1455
Rodrigo Borgia: cardinal of Roman Catholic church, then Pope Alexander VI; fathered children with mistress
Cesare Borgia (1475/76-1507): politician; tried to establish a secular kingdom in central Italy
Lucrezia Borgia (1480-1519): patron of the arts; skillful at political intrigue
the Borgias
1469-1527Italian philosopher, politician, writerThe Prince (1513)
Guide to the exercise of raw political power over a Renaissance principality
Character or skill of leader that determines success of a state
Various ways of acquiring and maintaining stateSuccess by any means. The end justifies the
means.The Art of War (1520)
Procedures for the acquisition, maintenance, and use of a military force
Niccolo Machiavelli
1492-1549Marguerite d’Angoulême, Queen of Navarrepublished authorHeptameron
based on Boccaccio’s Decameron
collaborated with the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V for the safe release and return of her brother,
the King of Francegrandmother of Henry IVencouraged church reform
Marguerite of Navarre
1483-1546German theologian, professor, pastor, church
reformerInspired the Protestant Reformation with
publication of 95 Theses Attacked Church’s sale of indulgences
Remission of temporal punishment due for sins that have already been forgiven
Advocated theology that rested on God’s grace rather than in human works
complete translation of Bible into German
excommunicated by Pope Leo X
Martin Luther
1473-1543Polish astronomerThe Sun, not the Earth, is at
the centre of the universe. Earth rotates daily on its axis;
revolves yearly around the sun. Planets circle the sun.
De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres)
seen as initiator of the Scientific Revolution
Nicolaus Copernicus
1452-1519Italian Renaissance artist, sculptor, engineer,
scientist, inventorwrote and drew on geology, anatomy, flight,
gravity, optics, and many morewrote in left-handed mirror script“invented” the bicycle, airplane, helicopter,
parachuteLa GiocondaThe Last SupperThe Madonna of the RocksThe Vitruvian Man
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci
1483-1520Italian Renaissance painter, architect,
designerCelebrated for grace and serenityFrequently commissioned by Pope Julius II
and Pope Leo XThe Stanza della
Segnatura fresco in Vatican palace
Sistine Chapel tapestriesmany Madonnas
Raphael
1480-1521Portuguese explorerfirst European to cross the Pacific OceanCommander of the expedition that was first to
sail around the world Out of 250 men, only 18 survived
Killed in battle between rival Filipino groups; did not see
the end of his trip
Ferdinand Magellan
1377-1446Italian goldsmith, sculptor, clock maker,
architectLost competition for commission of the new
Baptistery doors to Lorenzo Ghibertireceived commission to execute dome of
unfinished Santa Maria del Fiore Used no centering Two domes in one
Pioneer in perspective
Filippo Brunelleschi
1475-1564Italian painter, sculptor, architect,
poetClose to the Medici familyDavidCommission by Church for the ceiling of the
Sistine Chapel The Creation of Man
Michelangelo Buonarroti
1383-1466Florentine sculptorGoldsmith apprentice of Lorenzo
GhibertiAccompanied Brunelleschi to RomeDeep understanding of classical artDavidSt. John the Baptist
Donatello
1304-1374“Father of Humanism”Wrote hundreds of poem to Laura
Canzoniere
Poet laureate of RomeEpistolae metricaeDeveloped idea of laurel symbol
Poetic and literary immortality
Inventor of Petrarchan sonnetworks as basis for modern Italian
Francesco Petrarch
1509-1564French theologian and pastor during the Protestant
Reformationdeveloped Calvinism
Total depravity Unconditional election Limited atonement Irresistible grace Perseverance of the saints
Institutes of the Christian Religion (1536) Introductory textbook on the Protestant faith God’s total sovereignty Attacked the teachings of the unorthodox, particularly Roman
Catholicism
John Calvin
ca. 1400-1468Invented the printing press with
replaceable/movable wooden or metal letters Fostered rapid development in science, arts, and religion
through transmission of texts
Gutenberg Bible First book to be published in volume
Johann Gutenberg